River Park residents resist City Power’s cut-off operation
Livid residents in River Park fought fiercely against City Power’s cut-off operation in the area, forcing the utility's technicians to reconnect the houses they had disconnected.
City Power planned to conduct an illegal connection cut-off operation in River Park on May 29.
But shortly after commencing with their operation, angry residents quickly mobilised and staged a protest, demanding that technicians restore power to the homes they had disconnected and leave.
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Residents said following their protest at the utility’s Alexandra Service Delivery Centre (SDC) on May 28, they engaged with City Power and had an agreement that the utility would fix bypassed meters in June. A livid resident, Dillo Motshilo, expressed her shock with City Power’s decision to disconnect residents despite their initial agreement. “We had an agreement that they would come on June 9 to check and fix meters that have been bridged, and then people would pay the required R500. But here they are, to disconnect our electricity without notifying us.”
Another furious resident, Letty Ledwaba was shocked as well. She claimed that she and several other residents had their electricity cut off, and they paid R2 000 to keep their lights on while waiting for the utility to normalise their meters. “How can they disconnect us because we engaged with them yesterday. But now, they come without even telling us. They must fix the bypassed meters and stop disconnecting our electricity, and they disconnect with our appliances on inside the house, what if they get damaged?” Ledwaba exclaimed.
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On May 28, City Power’s general manager in the Department of Public Relations and Communication Isaac Mangena noted that there was ongoing engagement with River Park residents, however, he did not reveal if they were promises made or agreements reached in their engagements, as residents claimed. On the contrary, he condemned the community’s ‘disruptive and violent’ behaviour following their protest at the Alex SDC, where demonstrators blocked the entrance and disrupted operations.
Mangena revealed that the utility would be conducting a cut-off operation to address the plaguing issue of non-compliance and electricity theft in the area. Furthermore, City Power CEO Tshifularo Mashava issued out a stern warning, noting that if residents continued with their ‘hostile behaviour,’ the utility would not hesitate to disconnect the entire area.
“As City Power, we will not tolerate any acts of sabotage, intimidation, or violence in our efforts to address electricity theft and safeguard our infrastructure,” Mashava asserted.
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Related article: City Power plans to give 5 Alexandra informal settlements formal access to electricity
